From the editor: Something so real

This week the National Institutes of Health began infecting volunteers with a mild form of the current flu bug, hoping to discover a more reliable vaccine.

Now, most sentient types avoid the potentially deadly virus. They know that even if the microscopic beast doesn’t flatten you for good, it can easily knock you around for a week or so. But these foolhardy volunteers know that at the end of a three week quarantine period, some government clerk will be handing them a check amounting to $3,000. Besides, it’s just a mild form.